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Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to participate in a small tradeshow as an exhibitor. Given that I am usually either attending the tradeshow as a participant or am part of the team organizing the event, being on the exhibitor side was quite interesting. Although many aspects of the experience were not unexpected, I did come away with a new respect for what exhibitors go through on a regular basis.
Setup time for my table was scheduled well in advance of the event start time – but that is nothing new for me. When I am onsite for a conference, I am always there long before the first scheduled activity (including exhibit setup!). Being a first-timer, though, I was paranoid about missing any of the scheduled exhibit hours, so I made sure I was back at my table well before any attendees would be able to come by. I didn’t want to miss anyone!
The evening reception was nice, though I was too busy manning my table to really enjoy the food much, and I saw enough traffic to feel like it was a good use of my time. What I found most interesting was that not all of the exhibitors had arrived and set up yet. Given that the reception represented the single largest block of exhibit time, I was a little surprised that more exhibitors were not present. However, I suspect that they believed that they would get enough exposure throughout the next day’s schedule.
The next day was a full schedule, too. Again, I am used to long hours onsite during a conference, so the early start and length of the day did not concern me. By the time the day’s first session began, all but one of the exhibitors had arrived and set up (I found out later that the one exhibitor missing had car trouble on the way, which is why they were not there). Flow throughout the day was steady, if slow. Traffic picked up a bit during the regular breaks for exhibit viewing and networking but I was amazed how many people skipped sessions to wander through the exhibit hall. As an attendee, I can’t think of a time when I have done that, though I suspect that I would if I was already familiar with the material being presented… The end result was that I did not get to go to many sessions myself – which was OK since I had heard most of the session content at similar previous events.
Was it worthwhile? I don’t know yet; time will tell. I did not feel that it was a waste of time, though. I got several good leads on potential business (I think) and, knowing that the planning cycle can take quite some time before an agency decides to do an event and hire it out, I do not expect to receive any RFPs from these contacts right away. But, if I can build good connections with them, the potential for work is there.
Would I do it again? Yes. (In fact, RDL will be exhibiting for the first time at CalSAE’s Seasonal Spectacular in Sacramento on December 7th – stop by and say “hi” to our owners: Linda and Cyndy!) Having done this once, I feel that we can only get better at our outreach and marketing by adding exhibiting to our efforts.
~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises
Showing posts with label RDL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RDL. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
How much would a Meeting Planner charge to produce my event?
That’s a tricky one to answer and there is no way I could give a realistic estimate without knowing details. So – let’s look at how the Meeting Planner would come up with an answer for you. It mostly comes down to two main factors…
To begin with, it depends on how the planer expects to get paid. Do they work on commission or do they use a “fee for service” structure? If they are “fee for service”, do they charge by the hour or by the job? Or, do they mix the difference fee options? [For more on how meeting planners get paid, check out this post.] Each approach yields different answers in terms of how much you would need to pay the planner, though the amount earned by the planner often ends up being roughly the same.
The second piece of this puzzle is the event itself and what you items you want the planner to handle. This is, in many ways, the greater of the two factors as well as being the more complex of the two. A couple of things you may recall from earlier posts: event RFPs outline the basic structure of the event and staffing (who staffs the event and how many people you will need) helps determine the planner’s physical presence at your event. But these areas only scratch the surface of what a planner will want (need!) to know about your event before they can give you an accurate estimate of cost… What more will they want to know? Well, once you get past the basic information about when, where, and how many people, a meeting planner will want details about each task that you want them to do. Each task requires a different amount of work and that amount is potentially different for each event – even for the same task.
For example, if you want the planer to handle registration, then information about how many people you expect to attend, what fees they will pay (if any) and who collects those fees, who produces name badges, etc. will all be useful for the planner to know in building a quote for you. Similarly, asking the meeting planner to handle all of your food arrangements will involve needing to know how many food functions you will have, how many people you anticipate attending each one, and meal restrictions or guidelines. And, an event for twenty people will require different things than an event for several thousand (though there are many similarities). Basically, the more information you can provide for each task you wish the meeting planner to do for you, the more accurate a quote they can provide.
When RDL works on a response to an RFP, we examine each task area that the potential client is asking us to do, while looking at how that task fits into the “big picture” of the event. We then start building the estimated “fee for service”, using a grid that outlines each task area with the common jobs within each area (and, no, I can’t share the grid…sorry). The grid allows us to estimate the hours required for each job and for each level of staff expertise, then calculate a total for the event. One of the nice things about this approach is its ability to take in account overlapping task areas when pricing an event. For example, the budget management task area includes many jobs and responsibilities that also appear in areas like site selection, food ordering and management, attendee reimbursements, and audio-visual services, just to name a few. If we are handling multiple areas for a client, we can often reduce the charge for those services below what they would be if you simply ordered services off of a “menu”. The whole costs less than the sum of the parts…
If all of this seems a bit overwhelming, don’t worry about it too much. Remember, meeting planners – especially the independents – are used to doing this on a regular basis. They can get you a cost estimate fairly quickly. However, be ready to answer their questions in as much detail as you can so they can give you a more accurate response.
~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises
To begin with, it depends on how the planer expects to get paid. Do they work on commission or do they use a “fee for service” structure? If they are “fee for service”, do they charge by the hour or by the job? Or, do they mix the difference fee options? [For more on how meeting planners get paid, check out this post.] Each approach yields different answers in terms of how much you would need to pay the planner, though the amount earned by the planner often ends up being roughly the same.
The second piece of this puzzle is the event itself and what you items you want the planner to handle. This is, in many ways, the greater of the two factors as well as being the more complex of the two. A couple of things you may recall from earlier posts: event RFPs outline the basic structure of the event and staffing (who staffs the event and how many people you will need) helps determine the planner’s physical presence at your event. But these areas only scratch the surface of what a planner will want (need!) to know about your event before they can give you an accurate estimate of cost… What more will they want to know? Well, once you get past the basic information about when, where, and how many people, a meeting planner will want details about each task that you want them to do. Each task requires a different amount of work and that amount is potentially different for each event – even for the same task.
For example, if you want the planer to handle registration, then information about how many people you expect to attend, what fees they will pay (if any) and who collects those fees, who produces name badges, etc. will all be useful for the planner to know in building a quote for you. Similarly, asking the meeting planner to handle all of your food arrangements will involve needing to know how many food functions you will have, how many people you anticipate attending each one, and meal restrictions or guidelines. And, an event for twenty people will require different things than an event for several thousand (though there are many similarities). Basically, the more information you can provide for each task you wish the meeting planner to do for you, the more accurate a quote they can provide.
When RDL works on a response to an RFP, we examine each task area that the potential client is asking us to do, while looking at how that task fits into the “big picture” of the event. We then start building the estimated “fee for service”, using a grid that outlines each task area with the common jobs within each area (and, no, I can’t share the grid…sorry). The grid allows us to estimate the hours required for each job and for each level of staff expertise, then calculate a total for the event. One of the nice things about this approach is its ability to take in account overlapping task areas when pricing an event. For example, the budget management task area includes many jobs and responsibilities that also appear in areas like site selection, food ordering and management, attendee reimbursements, and audio-visual services, just to name a few. If we are handling multiple areas for a client, we can often reduce the charge for those services below what they would be if you simply ordered services off of a “menu”. The whole costs less than the sum of the parts…
If all of this seems a bit overwhelming, don’t worry about it too much. Remember, meeting planners – especially the independents – are used to doing this on a regular basis. They can get you a cost estimate fairly quickly. However, be ready to answer their questions in as much detail as you can so they can give you a more accurate response.
~ Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Summer Music Festival Celebration
On June 4, 2011, RDL kicked off the summer by managing their first ever music festival. The air was damp, the American River was breathtaking, and spirits were high at the sixth annual Coloma Blues Live music festival.
The 2011 lineup featured amazing, award-winning talent. Arizona’s hottest blues band The Sugar Thieves, voted best in the state, started the show off with a delta bang! Meridith Moore, lead singer extraordinaire said the band drove up from Arizona the night before. Their grateful presence was exhilarating and got people to their feet to “shake their meat.” They almost stole the show right out of the gate!
John Németh, who recently made the front cover of the Blues Festival Guide*, quickly gathered people to the stage to enjoy his funky, retro-modern blend of blues and soul. The third act and one of the most recognized, award-winning performers, Tommy Castro Band, came out in the middle of the day. His popular performance parted the clouds and stopped the pouring rain at Henningsen-Lotus Park. Hardcore Blues fans by the hundreds huddled around the stage to hear Tommy’s stunning, blues/roots performance. His electric guitar showmanship stole the show during his improvisational stunt coming off the stage and into the crowd, as he ripped and roared through the park playing his famed roadhouse rock. He was certainly a fan favorite! The Taj Mahal Trio undoubtedly filled the sierra foothills ending Coloma Blues Live with a delightful, fun-filled performance. The husky, bear like man shook his booty, telling everyone else to “get wiggling and giggling, dancing and prancing.” A few of the artists shared how much Taj Mahal influenced and inspired the creation of their artistry. You could see through crowd faces how much his illuminating presence inspired everyone, as they watched this legend fill the air with his rich compilation of music and talent.
Coloma Blues Live from start to finish was certainly was a celebration! Everyone involved, from the 150+ volunteers, crew, and the El Dorado Arts Council, who presented Coloma Blues Live, must feel very proud.
~ Tess Conrad • Meeting Planner & Coloma Blues Live Coordinator, RDL enterprises
*Blues Festival Guide is widely known for providing Blues fans with all the happenings in the genre.
All proceeds from the event benefit arts in education.
The 2011 lineup featured amazing, award-winning talent. Arizona’s hottest blues band The Sugar Thieves, voted best in the state, started the show off with a delta bang! Meridith Moore, lead singer extraordinaire said the band drove up from Arizona the night before. Their grateful presence was exhilarating and got people to their feet to “shake their meat.” They almost stole the show right out of the gate!
John Németh, who recently made the front cover of the Blues Festival Guide*, quickly gathered people to the stage to enjoy his funky, retro-modern blend of blues and soul. The third act and one of the most recognized, award-winning performers, Tommy Castro Band, came out in the middle of the day. His popular performance parted the clouds and stopped the pouring rain at Henningsen-Lotus Park. Hardcore Blues fans by the hundreds huddled around the stage to hear Tommy’s stunning, blues/roots performance. His electric guitar showmanship stole the show during his improvisational stunt coming off the stage and into the crowd, as he ripped and roared through the park playing his famed roadhouse rock. He was certainly a fan favorite! The Taj Mahal Trio undoubtedly filled the sierra foothills ending Coloma Blues Live with a delightful, fun-filled performance. The husky, bear like man shook his booty, telling everyone else to “get wiggling and giggling, dancing and prancing.” A few of the artists shared how much Taj Mahal influenced and inspired the creation of their artistry. You could see through crowd faces how much his illuminating presence inspired everyone, as they watched this legend fill the air with his rich compilation of music and talent.
Coloma Blues Live from start to finish was certainly was a celebration! Everyone involved, from the 150+ volunteers, crew, and the El Dorado Arts Council, who presented Coloma Blues Live, must feel very proud.
~ Tess Conrad • Meeting Planner & Coloma Blues Live Coordinator, RDL enterprises
*Blues Festival Guide is widely known for providing Blues fans with all the happenings in the genre.
All proceeds from the event benefit arts in education.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Marketing to the Government
In RDL’s continuing efforts to find ways to work with the Federal Government, we recently attended an “OSDBU Procurement Conference” (Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization) in Chantilly, Virginia. This conference was a national conference that fosters business partnerships between the Federal Government, prime contractors, small, minority, disabled veteran, and women-owned businesses. There were over 3,000 attendees, a number of plenary sessions and breakouts throughout the day, and more than 1,000 exhibitors. All opportunities were definitely beneficial to those attending. Throughout the day, though, the main component was “networking”.
Prior to attending this big event, we researched the various government agencies represented at the conference, as well as the prime contractors. The goal was to see who had the need to plan meetings and conferences for the year and who had the funding to make it happen. At the end of the day, we walked away with about 30 new contacts. Throughout the day we met people to follow up with and to make part of our social network. We hope that we will be able to establish working relationships that will be professionally rewarding for all parties. The next step is to follow through. Each of the contacts has received an email, a capability statement, and will be added to our Newsletter list. We will use every opportunity to remind them about our services.
It was a great experience for us to be able to meet and connect with so many large and small businesses across the country. We are all learning that small business teaming together can be awarded Government Contracts where the small business can make a big difference.
Learn more about Government Contracting at www.openforum.com/governmentcontracting
~ Cyndy Hutchinson • CFO, RDL enterprises
Prior to attending this big event, we researched the various government agencies represented at the conference, as well as the prime contractors. The goal was to see who had the need to plan meetings and conferences for the year and who had the funding to make it happen. At the end of the day, we walked away with about 30 new contacts. Throughout the day we met people to follow up with and to make part of our social network. We hope that we will be able to establish working relationships that will be professionally rewarding for all parties. The next step is to follow through. Each of the contacts has received an email, a capability statement, and will be added to our Newsletter list. We will use every opportunity to remind them about our services.
It was a great experience for us to be able to meet and connect with so many large and small businesses across the country. We are all learning that small business teaming together can be awarded Government Contracts where the small business can make a big difference.
Learn more about Government Contracting at www.openforum.com/governmentcontracting
~ Cyndy Hutchinson • CFO, RDL enterprises
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
RDL enterprises Joins the GSA Schedule!
There were many steps in the application process and reams of paperwork & Internet searches. We were able to connect with the local Federal Technology Center and can’t say enough about the positive support we got from their representatives. This service is provided at no cost to small businesses.
LD Ventures, dba RDL enterprises, submitted its application last March and were told over and over again, by the GSA office, that our application was in the very tall pile of other applications for review. We finally heard from the GSA office in December 2010, that we had some additions & corrections to make on our application.
Finally, in February, all the paperwork was finalized. Now that has been completed, the next step is to create our personalized GSA Schedule for approval and then we will need to upload our schedule to GSA’s eLibrary. Once that has been completed, our schedule will be available for other federal contractors to locate us for services our company can provide, as well as government agencies.
Now that we’re on the GSA schedule, we have to market, market, & market some more to the federal agencies where we believe our meeting, conference, and event-planning services are needed. On that note, the Executive Directors of RDL will be flying to Chantilly, Virginia in April to the Annual OSDBU Conference (Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization). Attending this conference will be our first big step in networking with many of the federal contractors that may be interested in purchasing our services.
Working with the Federal Government is a huge challenge, but we at RDL are excited about the opportunity to meet that challenge. So, with GSA Contract number in hand, we are off for an adventure in Government Networking! We are going equipped with all of our new tools, so wish us luck! It will boost our confidence even more!
~ Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Social Networking – In Person!
The Sacramento CVB’s member mixer at Bulls
Last night, the Sacramento Convention Center Visitor Bureau’s (SCVB) monthly Mixer was held at Bulls Downtown, a western-themed bar complete with a mechanical bull! It was a unique experience in networking, fun, entertainment, and a delightful time for all.
Sometimes networking can be a challenge, but last night’s SCVB Mixer was a lot of fun. Bulls Downtown was a perfect setting to relax after a long day, have a brew, re-connect with old friends and colleagues – and meet new ones. Whether is was the perfect atmosphere or my late afternoon frame of mind – I enjoyed myself, totally! I met some really cool people and learned all kinds of things about businesses that I knew nothing about before. For example…
Andrea Martin, owner of Bulls, was a delight. She is a young, inspiring woman who had a fun idea and has turned it into a lucrative business that is very unique to the Sacramento downtown area. Bulls has been in Sacramento for only a few short months, but it is astonishing all that Andrea has done with the place, A-L-R-E-A-D-Y! Bulls is complete with great eats, great drinks, and a very active mechanical bull for anyone who is brave enough, daring enough, or just plain crazy to give it a whirl.
Through our networking, Andrea and I had a short, but great, conversation. In talking about her business, she asked about ours. One key word led to another and, just like that, we have already found an opportunity to work together.
We are pleased to be the logistics planners for Coloma Blues Live! on June 4th in El Dorado County. Check it out if you like beautiful drives through the foothills, enjoy the great outdoors, or just love the Blues. Andrea was excited about this event and, hopefully, may be able to partner with us to share her great food with the Blues crowd.
~ Cyndy Hutchinson • CFO & Executive Director, RDL enterprises
Karl Baur, CMP (left), RDL enterprises & Jeff Dougherty (right), SCVB
Sometimes networking can be a challenge, but last night’s SCVB Mixer was a lot of fun. Bulls Downtown was a perfect setting to relax after a long day, have a brew, re-connect with old friends and colleagues – and meet new ones. Whether is was the perfect atmosphere or my late afternoon frame of mind – I enjoyed myself, totally! I met some really cool people and learned all kinds of things about businesses that I knew nothing about before. For example…
Andrea Martin, owner of Bulls, was a delight. She is a young, inspiring woman who had a fun idea and has turned it into a lucrative business that is very unique to the Sacramento downtown area. Bulls has been in Sacramento for only a few short months, but it is astonishing all that Andrea has done with the place, A-L-R-E-A-D-Y! Bulls is complete with great eats, great drinks, and a very active mechanical bull for anyone who is brave enough, daring enough, or just plain crazy to give it a whirl.
Through our networking, Andrea and I had a short, but great, conversation. In talking about her business, she asked about ours. One key word led to another and, just like that, we have already found an opportunity to work together.
We are pleased to be the logistics planners for Coloma Blues Live! on June 4th in El Dorado County. Check it out if you like beautiful drives through the foothills, enjoy the great outdoors, or just love the Blues. Andrea was excited about this event and, hopefully, may be able to partner with us to share her great food with the Blues crowd.
~ Cyndy Hutchinson • CFO & Executive Director, RDL enterprises
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Thoughts on Surviving this Economy as a Small Service Business
After over 20 years in business, the economy finally came knocking on our door, walked in, did a little staff reduction, and found a place to stay for a while. As is true for all businesses, this has been a challenging eighteen months. We are under no delusions that it is over, although we maintain hope that things are easing.
How have we survived? I can only say our survival is based on some tangible and some intangible reasons. Probably the biggest reason is commitment. The staff here at RDL have maintained a commitment to success in spite of the months our client base had dwindled, and we were marketing as creatively as we knew how in spite of our limitations both financially and experientially.
The RDL staff are an amazing group of people. They are absolutely positive that we will continue in our success and are unwilling to think or hear that there are any other options. Everyone has been a part of the belt tightening that keeps us going and although the belt has not been moved up or back a notch, we are breathing a little easier as our hard work has begun to show some results.
Some of our existing clients continue on planning their events, and some have postponed them in hopes of future funding. Our hard work and commitment has paid off in the new clients we have added to our base. One came as a referral from an existing client, one came as a result of good networking, and others have come through following leads.
Whoever said that positive thinking doesn’t work, should spend a day at RDL. We are positive that as the economy gets healthier so will our bottom line and we can loosen that old belt buckle or maybe even just buy a new belt.
~ Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises
How have we survived? I can only say our survival is based on some tangible and some intangible reasons. Probably the biggest reason is commitment. The staff here at RDL have maintained a commitment to success in spite of the months our client base had dwindled, and we were marketing as creatively as we knew how in spite of our limitations both financially and experientially.
The RDL staff are an amazing group of people. They are absolutely positive that we will continue in our success and are unwilling to think or hear that there are any other options. Everyone has been a part of the belt tightening that keeps us going and although the belt has not been moved up or back a notch, we are breathing a little easier as our hard work has begun to show some results.
Some of our existing clients continue on planning their events, and some have postponed them in hopes of future funding. Our hard work and commitment has paid off in the new clients we have added to our base. One came as a referral from an existing client, one came as a result of good networking, and others have come through following leads.
Whoever said that positive thinking doesn’t work, should spend a day at RDL. We are positive that as the economy gets healthier so will our bottom line and we can loosen that old belt buckle or maybe even just buy a new belt.
~ Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
RDL Talks! Completes Its 1st Year!
I am very excited to have completed one full year of posts for our blog – but the future beckons…
To date, the majority of our posts have been generated in-house. We look at our various areas of expertise and the questions and issues we deal with on a regular basis and try to select topics that can be explained without launching into full dissertations. But are we selecting topics useful or interesting to you?
One of my goals as editor of the RDL Talks! blog is to address the interests and needs of our readers more directly – which means I need to hear from you! Please email me with questions or meeting planning topics you’d like to see discussed and I will work to get responses posted. In your email, please let me know if you are willing to have your name and/or company listed in connection with the post (Note: being willing does not guarantee that we will include it…). If you are not willing to have your name listed, that is OK too.
If the topic you suggest is one we have covered before, that is fine with me – sometimes a fresh perspective on an old topic or question can provide new insight.
Your topic ideas and questions can be sent to me at RDLplanners@gmail.com. Any other feedback you may have about our blog is also welcome.
I look forward to hearing from you and expect to publish many more posts to shine a light on the world of meeting planning!
- Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises
To date, the majority of our posts have been generated in-house. We look at our various areas of expertise and the questions and issues we deal with on a regular basis and try to select topics that can be explained without launching into full dissertations. But are we selecting topics useful or interesting to you?
One of my goals as editor of the RDL Talks! blog is to address the interests and needs of our readers more directly – which means I need to hear from you! Please email me with questions or meeting planning topics you’d like to see discussed and I will work to get responses posted. In your email, please let me know if you are willing to have your name and/or company listed in connection with the post (Note: being willing does not guarantee that we will include it…). If you are not willing to have your name listed, that is OK too.
If the topic you suggest is one we have covered before, that is fine with me – sometimes a fresh perspective on an old topic or question can provide new insight.
Your topic ideas and questions can be sent to me at RDLplanners@gmail.com. Any other feedback you may have about our blog is also welcome.
I look forward to hearing from you and expect to publish many more posts to shine a light on the world of meeting planning!
- Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
How Do Meeting Planners Get Paid?
There are essentially two ways for a meeting planner to be paid for their services: fee for service or through commissions.
Earning a commission is a very common way for meeting planners to be paid for their services. Their fees are typically determined as a percentage of the guest room rate negotiated with the hotel or hotels that are hosting the event – and the hotels pay that percentage directly to the planner after the conclusion of the event. So, with a 10% commission and a negotiated rate of $150 per night, the planner would earn $15 (from the hotel!) for each night someone paid to stay at the hotel. For small groups, this does not usually result in a very large fee but, with large groups, this can add up to quite a tidy sum for the planner. A major advantage of this fee structure is that the client does not pay for the planner’s services out of their event budget, which can help their event’s bottom line.
“Fee for Service” is the other method commonly used and it can be calculated either on an hourly basis or for the whole project.
A planner who is paid by the hour simply determines an hourly rate for their services, which may vary by service or be a set amount across the board. In either case, there is a menu of services for clients to choose from. The main advantage here is that it is easy for the client to approximate the planner’s fees even before putting the project out to bid. They can also easily compare those costs against the staff time they would have to allocate to the project if they were to do it in-house.
Planners who are paid a fixed amount for the project determine how much to charge for a given event based on the size and complexity of the project – each job is different – and then works with that client to refine the scope of work and the fee until both parties reach an agreement. Though determining the final fee and scope of work for the project can be tricky, once they have been determined, an agency then knows exactly how much they will be paying for the planner’s services and exactly what those services will be.
While this brief overview does not give all of the ins and outs of each method, it is worth noting that most planners will work with you to find the approach that is right for you and your event. RDL typically sets a fee for each event or series of events that we do for our clients. However, we do still work with hourly rates and, occasionally, commissions to create the best fit to our clients’ needs.
Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises
Earning a commission is a very common way for meeting planners to be paid for their services. Their fees are typically determined as a percentage of the guest room rate negotiated with the hotel or hotels that are hosting the event – and the hotels pay that percentage directly to the planner after the conclusion of the event. So, with a 10% commission and a negotiated rate of $150 per night, the planner would earn $15 (from the hotel!) for each night someone paid to stay at the hotel. For small groups, this does not usually result in a very large fee but, with large groups, this can add up to quite a tidy sum for the planner. A major advantage of this fee structure is that the client does not pay for the planner’s services out of their event budget, which can help their event’s bottom line.
“Fee for Service” is the other method commonly used and it can be calculated either on an hourly basis or for the whole project.
A planner who is paid by the hour simply determines an hourly rate for their services, which may vary by service or be a set amount across the board. In either case, there is a menu of services for clients to choose from. The main advantage here is that it is easy for the client to approximate the planner’s fees even before putting the project out to bid. They can also easily compare those costs against the staff time they would have to allocate to the project if they were to do it in-house.
Planners who are paid a fixed amount for the project determine how much to charge for a given event based on the size and complexity of the project – each job is different – and then works with that client to refine the scope of work and the fee until both parties reach an agreement. Though determining the final fee and scope of work for the project can be tricky, once they have been determined, an agency then knows exactly how much they will be paying for the planner’s services and exactly what those services will be.
While this brief overview does not give all of the ins and outs of each method, it is worth noting that most planners will work with you to find the approach that is right for you and your event. RDL typically sets a fee for each event or series of events that we do for our clients. However, we do still work with hourly rates and, occasionally, commissions to create the best fit to our clients’ needs.
Karl Baur, CMP • Project Director, RDL enterprises
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
A Virtual Trade Show Booth…? What is That?
According to an article in the July issue of Forbes Magazine, Virtual Trade Shows are a way to generate leads for your business without spending a significant amount of time and money. You can build your own trade show booth in about 30 minutes or use one of the on-line booth designers to build it for you. The booth can be interactive by being logged on to your site, or you can set up a virtual chat rooms you can interact with visitors in real time. Many businesses have been turning to the virtual world for ways to market their business, generate leads, and save money – and Virtual Trade Shows are one more way to do this.
We are building our first Virtual Trade Show Booth in preparation for a Virtual World Trade Mission beginning December 2nd. This event is sponsored by the ASTRA Women’s Business Alliance and will run from December 2nd to January 30th.
The booth is created largely with tools you should already have for your business – such as brochures, business cards, company websites, blogs, and the like. It is a different way to participate in a trade show and we are curious to see how this will ultimately play out.
If you are interested in seeing how a virtual trade booth works, come join us on December 2nd at 8am for the ribbon cutting ceremony. The first four hours (8am – 12pm PST) will be live and after that, we will be available for on-line chats. To log-in as an attendee, click here.
Once the Trade Mission is completed, we look forward to sharing our experiences with you.
Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises
We are building our first Virtual Trade Show Booth in preparation for a Virtual World Trade Mission beginning December 2nd. This event is sponsored by the ASTRA Women’s Business Alliance and will run from December 2nd to January 30th.
The booth is created largely with tools you should already have for your business – such as brochures, business cards, company websites, blogs, and the like. It is a different way to participate in a trade show and we are curious to see how this will ultimately play out.
If you are interested in seeing how a virtual trade booth works, come join us on December 2nd at 8am for the ribbon cutting ceremony. The first four hours (8am – 12pm PST) will be live and after that, we will be available for on-line chats. To log-in as an attendee, click here.
Once the Trade Mission is completed, we look forward to sharing our experiences with you.
Linda Begbie • Executive Director, RDL enterprises
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
So what is it exactly that Meeting Planners do?
I encountered an interesting situation over the holiday weekend that kind of surprised me. A long-time friend was asking about how my job was going and, after we chatted about that for a while, proceeded to ask what it was I actually did. She knew what my job was in a general sense but did not know specifics…
Meeting Planners actually perform a wide range of duties that can be hard to sum up quickly. The Employment Development Department for California, though, actually has a nice overview document which divides the work of a Meeting Planner into these general areas of responsibility:
Program Development
Marketing and Promotion
Budgeting
Site Selection
Negotiation
Travel Arrangements
Entertainment and Speakers
Food Arrangements
Trade Show Management
Guest Programs
Reservations and Event Registration
Audio-Visual Equipment
Public Relations
Program Evaluation
I would also add Onsite Staffing to this list, since that not only encompasses many of the areas above but also requires a different set of skills and knowledge - and comes with many additional responsibilities. Many things can happen onsite (good and bad!) during an event that a meeting planner is eminently suited to handle.
Some meeting planners specialize in one of a few of these areas while others handle all of them. Most, though, cover the majority of these areas and leave one or two to other specialists or to the sponsoring agency to handle. In my 15 years of meeting planning, I have done everything on this list at one time or another. However, I would not consider myself a specialist or an expert in Public Relations or Guest Programs, for example (I do think I’m pretty darn good at the rest, though).
The other interesting thing about my conversation was the misconception that, as a meeting planner, I only did events from the very beginning to the very end. In fact, a good meeting planner will tailor the services they provide to each individual client’s event. If a conference only needs assistance with their registration process, we can do that separately from every other task. If they just need onsite staffing support for while the conference is “in session”, that can be provided separately as well.
For more information about what meeting planners do here is a one-page brochure describing what RDL enterprises does. We also address some of the more common questions about meeting planners at the bottom of this page.
- Karl Baur, CMP, Project Director
Meeting Planners actually perform a wide range of duties that can be hard to sum up quickly. The Employment Development Department for California, though, actually has a nice overview document which divides the work of a Meeting Planner into these general areas of responsibility:
Program Development
Marketing and Promotion
Budgeting
Site Selection
Negotiation
Travel Arrangements
Entertainment and Speakers
Food Arrangements
Trade Show Management
Guest Programs
Reservations and Event Registration
Audio-Visual Equipment
Public Relations
Program Evaluation
I would also add Onsite Staffing to this list, since that not only encompasses many of the areas above but also requires a different set of skills and knowledge - and comes with many additional responsibilities. Many things can happen onsite (good and bad!) during an event that a meeting planner is eminently suited to handle.
Some meeting planners specialize in one of a few of these areas while others handle all of them. Most, though, cover the majority of these areas and leave one or two to other specialists or to the sponsoring agency to handle. In my 15 years of meeting planning, I have done everything on this list at one time or another. However, I would not consider myself a specialist or an expert in Public Relations or Guest Programs, for example (I do think I’m pretty darn good at the rest, though).
The other interesting thing about my conversation was the misconception that, as a meeting planner, I only did events from the very beginning to the very end. In fact, a good meeting planner will tailor the services they provide to each individual client’s event. If a conference only needs assistance with their registration process, we can do that separately from every other task. If they just need onsite staffing support for while the conference is “in session”, that can be provided separately as well.
For more information about what meeting planners do here is a one-page brochure describing what RDL enterprises does. We also address some of the more common questions about meeting planners at the bottom of this page.
- Karl Baur, CMP, Project Director
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
A New Direction for RDL?
As independent meeting planners, we are all wondering “where is all the money that used to go into meetings and conferences?” More state agencies are doing meetings in-house and, even in the private sector, companies are cutting back on the number of trainings and events that they are doing. So is anyone still doing meetings…?
I recently spent three days in an intensive training on how to find opportunities to work with the one sector that seems to have money to spend – the Federal Government. Not having done much work with the Federal Government before, there was a lot to learn! Once we learned how to navigate the government websites and received the correct codes and labels, we began searching for agencies looking for meeting planning services. To our surprise (and great pleasure), several opportunities have already come up in the short time we have been searching. They are still doing meetings and hiring meeting planners to do them!
We’ve also learned that the government expects you to do a lot of work before you can even submit your bid – and that work has to take place in a very short amount of time. Unlike most of our clients, where fees and event costs are separate, the entire cost of a federal event is included in the bid and if you underbid, then you pay the difference. This means we do a great deal of research, gathering numbers, looking for available meeting sites, hotels, etc. prior to putting the proposal together. Most of the time, writing up the scope of work for the bid is the easy part.
We have not yet had any success in this new endeavor but we are looking forward to beginning work with the Federal Government and expanding into this new arena. Though taking RDL in this “new” direction could certainly change our business to some extent, our core services will remain unchanged. And, no matter what new path we follow, we will always be meeting planners.
- Linda R. Begbie, Executive Director & Meeting Planner
I recently spent three days in an intensive training on how to find opportunities to work with the one sector that seems to have money to spend – the Federal Government. Not having done much work with the Federal Government before, there was a lot to learn! Once we learned how to navigate the government websites and received the correct codes and labels, we began searching for agencies looking for meeting planning services. To our surprise (and great pleasure), several opportunities have already come up in the short time we have been searching. They are still doing meetings and hiring meeting planners to do them!
We’ve also learned that the government expects you to do a lot of work before you can even submit your bid – and that work has to take place in a very short amount of time. Unlike most of our clients, where fees and event costs are separate, the entire cost of a federal event is included in the bid and if you underbid, then you pay the difference. This means we do a great deal of research, gathering numbers, looking for available meeting sites, hotels, etc. prior to putting the proposal together. Most of the time, writing up the scope of work for the bid is the easy part.
We have not yet had any success in this new endeavor but we are looking forward to beginning work with the Federal Government and expanding into this new arena. Though taking RDL in this “new” direction could certainly change our business to some extent, our core services will remain unchanged. And, no matter what new path we follow, we will always be meeting planners.
- Linda R. Begbie, Executive Director & Meeting Planner
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
RDL enterprises is "on the air"!
Welcome to our brand new blog, written by the staff of RDL enterprises. We will be posting items of interest weekly from the world of meetings and conferences.
For those of you who travel frequently, the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) guidelines for fliers are probably fairly well ingrained by now and even those who fly only on rare occasions are becoming savvy about what they can and cannot take through security. However, some of the new data requirements for passengers under the new "Secure Flight" program might surprise you...
Beginning May 15th, according to a TSA press release, the name that appears on your ticket must be the same as it appears on your government issued ID (such as your driver's license or passport). Though this does not affect everyone, be careful if your name is "Michael" and you usually book your tickets under "Mike". And, while the TSA has said that small differences should not be an issue, you could still run into problems getting through security under the new rules.
The second phase is scheduled to begin August 15th, at which time passengers will need to provide their gender and date of birth as well when booking airline flights. As with your name, this information should be the same as it appears on your ID.
In both instances, the TSA recommends that all travelers aim to be consistent with the information that they have on their government issues ID and that they use while traveling. For more information on the TSA's travel rules, please visit the TSA website.
- Karl Baur, CMP
For those of you who travel frequently, the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) guidelines for fliers are probably fairly well ingrained by now and even those who fly only on rare occasions are becoming savvy about what they can and cannot take through security. However, some of the new data requirements for passengers under the new "Secure Flight" program might surprise you...
Beginning May 15th, according to a TSA press release, the name that appears on your ticket must be the same as it appears on your government issued ID (such as your driver's license or passport). Though this does not affect everyone, be careful if your name is "Michael" and you usually book your tickets under "Mike". And, while the TSA has said that small differences should not be an issue, you could still run into problems getting through security under the new rules.
The second phase is scheduled to begin August 15th, at which time passengers will need to provide their gender and date of birth as well when booking airline flights. As with your name, this information should be the same as it appears on your ID.
In both instances, the TSA recommends that all travelers aim to be consistent with the information that they have on their government issues ID and that they use while traveling. For more information on the TSA's travel rules, please visit the TSA website.
- Karl Baur, CMP
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